Sports experts, practitioners, and renowned scholars from different countries have started to discuss issues related to sport and development in the region in a two-day symposium, which opened yesterday in Doha.
The ‘Sport for Development in the Gulf: International and Regional Perspectives’ symposium is organised by the Gulf Studies Centre (GSC) at Qatar University College of Arts and Sciences (QU-CAS), in conjunction with the CAS Sport Science Programme.
The aim is to foster dialogue among the participants and generate a set of recommendations that address key issues related to sports and development in the Gulf region.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Norway, UAE, and the UK, as well as those from the International Centre for Sport Security, Qatar Olympic Committee, Aspire Zone Foundation, and Josoor Institute, are taking part in the event.
Some of the attendees included CAS dean Dr Rashid al-Kuwari; associate deans for Research and Graduate Studies professor Hala Sultan al-Essa; and for Academic Affairs, Dr Hassan Abdel Aziz; GSC director Dr Abdullah Baabood, and Sport Science Programme director Dr Ruben Goebel, as well as CAS faculty and students.
Apart from presentations, the programme’s agenda featured numerous sessions on Sport and Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion, Sport and Integration, Sport and Human Development Agenda, Sport and Sustainability, and Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility.  
Dr al-Kuwari described the symposium, a first of its kind, as ‘a significant opportunity to generate new knowledge on sports for development and to fill the gap in the sport field.’
“This will contribute to uplifting the programmes provided by GSC and the Sport Science Programme, and to advancing QU’s multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research portfolio,” he added.
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